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The California State University Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime or CSU Maritime Academy) is a
public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...
in
Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 census. Vallejo is home to the ...
. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system and the only
maritime academy This is a list of maritime colleges, grouped by geographical region and country. Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania See also *Marine propulsion Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a water ...
on the United States West Coast. The university offers six different Bachelor's degrees, and one
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
.


History

The California Nautical School was established in 1929, when California State Assembly Bill No. 253 was signed into law by Governor C. C. Young. The bill authorized the creation of the school, the appointment of a Board of Governors to manage the school and the acquisition of a training vessel. The school's mission was "''to give practical and theoretical instruction in navigation, seamanship, steam engines, gas engines, and electricity in order to prepare young men to serve as officers in the American Merchant Marine.''" By 1930, a training vessel and a school site was acquired; the original location of what would become California Maritime Academy was Tiburon, California in the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
. Due to the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, the early days of the Academy were full of financial uncertainty. As early as 1933, some state legislators were calling for the school's abolition. In order to save money, the cadets and instructors alike lived and held classes aboard the training vessel, the T.S. ''California State''. Only after the passage of the
Merchant Marine Act of 1936 The Merchant Marine Act of 1936 is a United States federal law. Its purpose is "to further the development and maintenance of an adequate and well-balanced American merchant marine, to promote the commerce of the United States, to aid in the natio ...
did the funding for the Academy stabilize. In 1939 the California Nautical School adopted the name, the California Maritime Academy. By 1940, the Academy was granting Bachelor of Science degrees and Naval Reserve commissions to its graduates; this step marked the beginning of the transition from the status of trade school to college. In 1943, the Academy moved to its present location in
Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 census. Vallejo is home to the ...
. In the 1970s, after surviving another round of budget cuts and calls for the Academy's abolition, California Maritime Academy became a four-year institution. The 1970s also marked the time when the first minority and female cadets graduated from California Maritime Academy. In 1995 California Maritime Academy became the twenty-second campus of the California State University system. The new affiliation improved the Academy's funding prospects considerably. The current training vessel is the T.S. ''Golden Bear'', and is the third training ship to carry that name. In September 2015, the
California State University Board of Trustees The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public universi ...
approved a new name, the California State University Maritime Academy.


Superintendents and presidents

Since the passage of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970, the position of President of the Cal Maritime is commissioned as a
Rear Admiral (Upper Half) A rear admiral in the uniformed services of the United States is either of two different ranks of commissioned officers: one-star flag officers and two-star flag officers. By contrast, in most other countries, the term "rear admiral" refers only t ...
in the
United States Maritime Service The United States Maritime Service (USMS) was established in 1938 under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 as voluntary training organization to train individuals to become officers and crewmembers on merchant ships that form the U ...
. Two past Presidents are alumni of the Academy itself. #R.C.Dwyer replaced by N.E. Nichols due to Navy requirements for regular Navy officers to be in charge of Navy-owned ships. #Early WWII – Superintendent and Master became separate positions. #Edwin C. Miller appointed Interim Superintendent October 1971 – July 1972. #On February 27, 1975, the title of "Superintendent" was changed to "President."


Training ships


Academics


Degree programs

Cal Maritime offers one graduate and six undergraduate degrees, all of which are tied to a nautical curriculum. An additional
Oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...
major is expected to be added in fall 2020. As of fall 2018 CSU Maritime has the largest enrollment percentage of
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
Americans and Multiracial Americans, the second White and third percentage of Unknown Americans in the California State University system.


Rankings

''
Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...
'' magazine ranked Cal Maritime 15th in the country for value out of 623 schools it evaluated for its 2022 Best Colleges in America ranking. In 2019 ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' ranked Cal Maritime as the 309th top college in the nation and 64th in the West. The 2021 '' U.S. News & World Report'' college rankings lists Cal Maritime as the No. 1 "Top Public College" and tied for 2nd out of 102 schools in the category "Regional Colleges (West)". According to a study by the Equality of Opportunity Project, the Cal Maritime had the best results of any California college in helping transform students whose parents were relatively poor (bottom 20 percent of the income bracket) into adults who are relatively wealthy (top 20 percent income) within a decade after graduation. 85% of poor students eventually became relatively wealthy. However, only 6% of the students came from poor families.


Corps of Cadets

Cal Maritime is the United States' only maritime academy on the West Coast and requires all undergraduate students to participate in the Corps of Cadets. The only similar program in the Western United States is at the
junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...
New Mexico Military Institute New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) is a public military junior college and high school in Roswell, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, NMMI operates under the auspices of the State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports to the G ...
. Since Maritime Academies comply with Title 46 Part 310 of the Code of Federal Regulations students are referred to as Cadets, required to wear uniforms, and utilize a demerit-based disciplinary system. Participation in Navy Reserve Merchant Marine training program is no longer required, but Cadets still utilize Merchant Marine Navy-style uniforms, customs, and traditions. Based on academic majors cadets are organized into Squads, Sections, Divisions and Companies which regularly muster in Morning Formations several times a week, as well as stand watches on campus and aboard the training ship.


Military options

There is no armed service obligation attached to graduation from the Cal Maritime. However, financial aid and additional career opportunities exist for those students who choose to participate in any of the several military programs available on the Cal Maritime campus: * Coast Guard – Auxiliary University Program, Maritime Academy Graduate Program *
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
Strategic Sealift Officer Program The Strategic Sealift Officer Program, previously known as the Merchant Marine Reserve and founded in 1913 as the Naval Auxiliary Reserve, consists of members of the United States Merchant Marine who are also members of the United States Navy ...
*
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
Reserve Officer Training Corps * Marine CorpsReserve Officer Training Corps *
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
Reserve Officer Training Corps


Athletics

The Cal Maritime athletics teams are called the Keelhaulers (formerly known as the "Seawolves"). The academy is a member of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...
(NAIA), primarily competing in the California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) since the 1996–97 academic year. Cal Maritime competes in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball, crew, cross country, golf, rugby, soccer and water polo; while women's sports include basketball, crew, cross country, golf, soccer and water polo; and co-ed sports include sailing.


Mascot/nickname

The Keelhauler mascot was chosen as Cal Maritime's athletic mascot by cadets in 1974, the name taken from a form of corporal punishment that was formerly used in the Dutch and English navies.
Keelhauling Keelhauling (Dutch ''kielhalen''; "to drag along the keel") is a form of punishment and potential execution once meted out to sailors at sea. The sailor was tied to a line looped beneath the vessel, thrown overboard on one side of the ship, and d ...
involved tying the hands of a crewmember to a rope and hauling him under the keel of the ship. While the practice of Keelhauling was formally abolished in 1853, the Keelhauler lives on as the official mascot of Cal Maritime athletics.


Overview

Cal Maritime has a long history of athletic activities. Before it joined regular intercollegiate athletics, sports teams from Cal Maritime usually played military teams from local bases. In the 1970s, Cal Maritime began to organize its sports under intercollegiate guidelines, and the student body chose the "Keelhauler" as the Academy's mascot. Until then, the Academy's teams were known as the Seawolves.


Accomplishments

Cal Maritime's
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
program was started in 1998 and gained varsity status in 2001. Rugby was at one time the school's most successful sport, going undefeated against Division 2 opponents in home matches from 2007 to 2010. Cal Maritime's rugby team has been nationally ranked in college rugby, won the Pacific Coast League's Western Division Championship in 2009 and 2010, and was the runner up in the 2012 championship of the
National Small College Rugby Organization National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) formerly the "National Small College Rugby Organization" is a rugby union governing body in the United States. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, NCR was created in 2007 by Chip Auscavitch and Steve Cohen to supp ...
. During the 2004–2005 academic year, the
women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...
team was formed and now also competes in the CalPac. The Academy's
sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...
team captured the Kennedy Cup – the National Collegiate Sailing Championship – in the fall of 2009. That victory earned it the right to serve as the U.S. representative in the annual Student World Yachting Cup championships in October 2010 in
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
, France, where it placed 5th of 14. In 2012, the Varsity 4+ of the men's crew team took first place in its event at the Head of the American Regatta. It beat teams from
UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...
,
UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
,
CSU Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...
, CSU Long Beach,
Humboldt State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt also known as Cal Poly Humboldt, Humboldt or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California or California State Polytechnic Universi ...
,
Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic Church, Catholic college in Moraga, California. Established in 1863, it is affiliated with the Catholic Church and administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college of ...
,
Sonoma State University Sonoma State University (SSU, Sonoma State, or Sonoma) is a public university in Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California, US. It is one of the smallest members of the California State University (CSU) system. Sonoma State offers 92 Bachelor's d ...
, and the University of the Pacific. At the 2013 WIRA championships, the men's pair placed 2nd out of 16, while the men's novice 4+ placed 6th out of 19. Also in 2012, Cal Maritime added a men's
cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...
team that finished 5th out of 8 teams in the Cal Pac Conference. In 2014, Cal Maritime added a women's
water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
team, followed by a
women's soccer Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the women's professional sports, professional level in multiple c ...
team in 2018.


Notable alumni

*
Kate McCue Kate McCue (born January 6, 1978) is an American cruise ship captain. She is currently employed by Celebrity Cruises and is the captain of the '' Celebrity Beyond''. When she became the commanding officer of ''Celebrity Summit'' in 2015, it ...
(Class of 2000),
Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida and a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group. Celebrity Cruises was founded in 1988 by the Greece-based Chandris Group, and merged with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in 19 ...
Captain *
Ryan T. Holte Ryan Thomas Holte (born October 3, 1983) is a judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims. Biography Holte graduated from Jesuit High School in Sacramento, California. Holte received his Bachelor of Engineering, magna cum laude, fro ...
(Class of 2005), Judge, United States Court of Federal Claims * Jamila Reinhardt (Class of 2012), rugby union player


See also

* United States Maritime Administration * United States service academies *
Maritime Academy This is a list of maritime colleges, grouped by geographical region and country. Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania See also *Marine propulsion Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a water ...
*
United States Merchant Marine United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...
*
Senior Military College In the United States, a senior military college (SMC) is one of six colleges that offer military Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) programs under , though many other schools offer military Reserve Officers' Training Corps under other sectio ...


Notes


References


External links

*
Official athletics website
{{Coord, 38, 4, 10, N, 122, 13, 47, W, type:edu_region:US, display=title Maritime colleges in the United States Military academies of the United States Universities and colleges in Solano County, California San Pablo Bay California Pacific Conference schools Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Educational institutions established in 1929 1929 establishments in California Schools in Vallejo, California California State University Maritime Academy
Maritime Academy This is a list of maritime colleges, grouped by geographical region and country. Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania See also *Marine propulsion Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a water ...